Welcome to EX, the research report at the end of the internet

Hi, welcome to EX. We're a trio of copywriters interested in the intersection of culture and technology, with a bias toward the former.

True origin story: We started kicking story ideas to each other while playing Elden Ring and ended up with so many so quickly that we decided to start funneling them somewhere. (Elden Ring: underreported brainstorming tool?) We thought a weekly digest of findings might be useful to people interested in where culture is headed, particularly online: journalists, strategists, trendspotters, and weirdos.

While we're particularly interested in the worlds of games, music, and digital culture, we're also interested in any of the eldritch threads of information and art tangling online, particularly if it relates to an actual output rather than just the ongoing drama of “platforms.” Every week we'll send a digest of artifacts we find interesting from the internet. Features will allow us to dig deeper. Hopefully everything surfaces stuff you haven’t seen before.

If you have thoughts or want to hear more from us on any of these stories, hit reply.

Who is behind EX?

The team behind EX has written for outlets including Rolling Stone, Esquire, GQ, Game Informer, Vulture, Rock Paper Shotgun, The Daily Beast, The A.V. Club, and Pitchfork. They have worked for brands including Intel, YouTube, Soundcloud, Shopify, Groupon, and Hyatt.

Chris Breault is based in St. Louis, MO.

Clayton Purdom is based in Shaker Heights, OH.

Pao Yumol is based in Los Angeles, CA.